Telecom Manager

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The Telecom Manager is responsible for the delivery, performance, and lifecycle management of telecommunications services across a large, distributed enterprise environment in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This role owns the end-to-end execution of carrier services, including circuit provisioning, installation coordination, and service activation for field locations.

The primary focus of this role is managing telecom providers and aggregators at scale, ensuring circuits are delivered on time, meet technical requirements, and support standardized network deployments across the organization. This role is also accountable for optimizing telecom spend by driving cost-effective solutions, leveraging vendor negotiations, and identifying opportunities for expense reduction without compromising service quality.

This position serves as the accountable owner for telecom service delivery, working closely with Corporate Networking to align with network design standards and with Field Infrastructure to ensure successful on-site deployment. The role also partners with the Escalations (field support) team to leverage incident and outage data to drive vendor accountability and continuous service improvement. 

This role acts in the best interest of the organization and maintains independence in vendor relationships, avoiding any conflicts of interest or activities that could be perceived as acting on behalf of a service provider.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES 

Telecom Provisioning & Circuit Lifecycle Management

• Own and manage the full lifecycle of telecom circuits, including ordering, provisioning, installation, activation, and disconnects.  These circuits may include fiber, copper, fixed wireless (Cradlepoint, Starlink, etc.), etc. in active or active/passive configurations.
• Coordinate circuit delivery across field locations to ensure alignment with project timelines and operational needs.
• Ensure accuracy and consistency in provisioning processes and documentation.
• Drive standardization of telecom ordering and delivery practices across the enterprise.

Carrier & Vendor Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for telecom carriers and aggregators.
• Negotiate pricing, contract terms, and service agreements with carriers and aggregators to achieve cost savings, improved service levels, and favorable commercial terms.
• Manage vendor performance related to delivery timelines, service quality, and responsiveness.
• Communicate with providers for missed install dates, chronic outages, and service issues, working with the Escalations and Field Service Desk (help desk) teams.
• Identify underperforming vendors and drive corrective actions or replacement strategies.
• Support rationalization of the telecom provider landscape to improve service consistency and financial leverage.

Field Connectivity & Deployment Coordination

• Partner with Field Infrastructure teams and location management to coordinate site readiness, circuit installations, and turn-ups.
• Ensure telecom services are delivered in a manner that supports standardized network deployments.
• Validate circuit readiness prior to handoff for site activation.
• Assist in troubleshooting issues during site deployments and initial turn-up activities.

Network Alignment & Standards Integration

• Collaborate with Corporate Networking to ensure telecom services align with network architecture, standards, and VLAN strategies.
• Ensure carrier services meet technical requirements defined by network engineering.
• Support implementation of standardized connectivity models across all field locations.

Service Performance & Vendor Accountability

• Partner with the Escalations team to analyze outage trends, incident patterns, and provider performance.
• Translate operational data into actionable insights for vendor management and service improvement.
• Identify recurring issues and systemic service failures across providers.
• Lead vendor performance discussions and drive continuous improvement initiatives based on data.

Inventory & Lifecycle Governance

• Maintain accurate inventory of telecom circuits, providers, and site connectivity types.
• Identify cost optimization opportunities including elimination of unused services, consolidation of providers, and renegotiation of existing services to reduce overall telecom spend.
• Work with our Telecom Expense Management (TEM) provider to ensure data integrity across our database of record and theirs.
• Ensure alignment between ordered, installed, and active services.
• Identify and drive removal of unused, redundant, or legacy circuits.
• Improve visibility and governance over telecom assets across the enterprise.

Operational Excellence

• Develop documentation, standards, and runbooks for telecom provisioning and lifecycle processes.
• Establish operational metrics related to circuit delivery, vendor performance, and service reliability.
• Establish and track financial metrics related to telecom spend, including cost per site, cost trends, and realized savings from optimization initiatives.
• Monitor trends and proactively identify opportunities to improve telecom operations and service quality.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a telecom provisioning and lifecycle management team of 3-5 associates, ensuring alignment with service delivery, vendor management, and cost optimization objectives.
• Establish accountability for circuit delivery timelines, data accuracy, and vendor performance across the team.
• Drive operational discipline, standardization, and continuous improvement in telecom provisioning and lifecycle processes.
•  This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the essential functions or duties related to this job

Minimum Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or related field. Commensurate experience may be substituted.

Certification/License

• Preferred ITIL Foundation or similar certification for operational excellence.
• Preferred networking or telecom-related certifications.

Experience

• 7–10+ years of experience in telecom, network operations, or carrier management.
• Experience supporting large, multi-site telecom environments.
• Hands-on experience with circuit provisioning and carrier delivery processes.
• Experience managing telecom vendors (Comcast, Lumen, etc.) and escalations.
• Experience coordinating across engineering and field deployment teams.
• Preferred experience working with telecom aggregators (Granite, Meriplex, etc.).
• Preferred experience in distributed enterprise environments.
• Preferred experience improving telecom inventory accuracy and lifecycle processes.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong understanding of telecom technologies including broadband, DIA, SIP, MPLS, and LTE/5G.
• Strong vendor management and escalation skills.
• Ability to manage complex provisioning workflows across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail in lifecycle and inventory management.
• Ability to analyze operational data and drive service improvements.
• Ability to work effectively across technical teams without direct authority.
• Ability to travel as needed

Work Conditions                                                                

Work Environment

• Work indoors and occasionally outdoors during all seasons and weather conditions.
• Some travel may be required for location visits or vendor meetings.
• Comply with Corporate dress code policy.

Work Postures

• Sitting continuously for many hours per day, up to 6 hours per day
• May climb stairs to access buildings frequently

Physical Demands

• Physical effort requiring manual dexterity is required, includes paperwork, calculators, computers and phone usage

Work Hours

• Working beyond “standard” hours as the need arises
• Travel up to 25%